


What I've Done

by Fur3v3rY0ung



Series: Transformers [1]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Criminal Background, F/M, Gun Violence, Inappropriate Humor, Inventor, References to Depression, Self-Discovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Sexual Humor, Slow Burn, Swearing, Violence in Later Chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 09:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11310207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fur3v3rY0ung/pseuds/Fur3v3rY0ung
Summary: In this farewellThere's no BLOOD, there's no ALIBI'Cause I've drawn REGRETFrom the TRUTH of a thousand LIESSo let mercy come and WASH AWAYWHAT I'VE DONEI'll FACE myself to cross out what I've BECOMEERASE myselfAnd LET GO of WHAT I'VE DONEPut to REST what you THOUGHT of meWhile I CLEAN this slateWith the hands of UNCERTAINTYSo let merch come and WASH AWAYWHAT I'VE DONE





	What I've Done

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I've had in my head for a while and I've tried many times to start it but kept losing my inspiration. No matter how nonsensical the movies get sometimes they're always so fun to watch and I love the characters so much so hope at least a few people enjoy the story they all love with some twists of my own. Enjoy!~

When a daughter lies she apologizes, she cries and begs for everything to disappear because she can't stand it; the disappointed look in her father's eyes as she stands in front of him in handcuffs, the sorrow in her mother's tears as she weeps seeing her girl so hurt, and the knowing eyes of her brother as she is pulled in for a hug that only makes her break down more. I know this to be fact and I also know that I can never change what happened but I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe I can change what will. That has been my motto ever since that day, it's what keeps me going.

That and the idiot currently trying to break my bedroom door down calling out my name, "Adri! Come one, we have our presentation today! We can't be late."

I grab my pillow wrapping it around my face as I groan in exasperation, why can't I just wake up to gentle bird chirps or literally anything quieter? "I'm sorry I didn't order a wake-up call, kindly leave your message and I'll try to ignore it for as long as possible." I call out lowering the pillow so the soft fabric will not muffle my voice. For a moment Sam's persistent banging stops and I am able to actually hear my own thoughts. Letting out a soft sigh I stare up at the ceiling clinging tightly to the pull now laying on my chest. It had been another uneasy night; I had that dream again, the one about the metal planet and that weird war.

For as long as I can remember I've always had the dream, maybe not every single night but often enough to make me uncomfortable and try to seek out some kind of answer as to why. I always came up empty-handed, eventually I just stopped asking questions and resolved myself to just deal with them and try to move on. What I wouldn't give to just have regular dreams though.

"Adri, get up!" Sam whines as he gives another loud bang against the doorframe and I swear I hear the wood crack.

"Alright! Okay, fine, I'm up. You can stop trying to break my door down now!" I shout back at him earning a quick round of laughter in response. I push myself up into a sitting position with the pillow now resting on my lap.

"Well if you would get up on time I wouldn't have to," He says before I finally hear his footsteps as he walks away.

With Sam now gone I yawn and force myself to leave the comforting warmth of my bed lazily kicking the covers off of my body and tossing my pillow friend aside. When my foot hits the ground I receive a sharp jolt of pain that makes me sit down and lift up my foot cursing softly under my breath. "Son of a-" My gaze quickly falls to the carpeted ground to try and find the culprit of my pain only to see a small screw hidden in the fibers reminding me of what else I had been doing last night and the mess that I had made.

Being a tech-head had its perks, a mine field of nails, screws, and other small metal bits right beside your bed is not one of them. For the past couple of months I've been working on a little project something that I haven't quite found a name for but I will eventually; first I have to get it working however. So far my attempts have been... not very fruitful. I got really close one time managed to get it hovering off the ground and everything I was so proud when I brought it down for my family to see it, then it exploded. That was the last time Dad let me test my projects inside the house. Which was honestly a bit of an exaggeration, it only broke a vase, and a mug, and tore a line through the couch. Okay, so sometimes my inventions can be a little destructive and unstable, but I'm working on it, soon I'll have this thing zooming around the house and maybe even talking! For now I have to clean up all of these screws and junk before they poke a hole through my foot, that would be very unpleasant.

I make quick work of the mess storing it back into the box of other "borrowed" parts, I've picked up. With my carpet now clear of little bombs I hurry around my room getting dressed not because there was any particular rush - despite Sam's insistent whining a few moments ago - I was just hungry. Surprising or not, having weird dreams makes a person very hungry so I make sure to pick up the pace as I get dressed and fix my hair not really bothering with any of the make-up. It's a shame since Mom bought all of that stuff for me yet it sits on the sink counter completely untouched. Never really felt like putting that much effort into my appearance, I don't really care about it anyways.

Now fresh as a daisy, I grab my school bag and open it up to double-check that I had packed all of the supplies that Sam and I would need for our family genealogy report and we had to make sure that it was absolutely perfect. Our dad had made a deal with us; if we got 3 A's and a thousand dollars each then he would cover the rest of the cost for our first car. Getting this right mattered a lot to me; of course it was a big deal for Sam too, but to have Dad actually trust me enough to put me behind the wheel of my own car meant that I was finally starting to make a breakthrough. Getting my actual license had been a big deal but this was on a whole new level. Nothing could go wrong today.

As I dig through my binders and miscellaneous papers - that had been shoved in out of pure laziness - I pull everything for the project out to make sure it's intact before putting it back in the bag and  checking it off of my mental list.

Folder of old gritty photos. Check.

Old newspaper articles. Check.

Archibald's busted glasses...

My hand reached into the front pocket grabbing hold of the black case. Lifting it up I expected to see my face reflected in a cracked lenses only to see that it was empty. Instantly, I start panicking and my chest aches as my heart starts to race anxiously. I had double-checked and even triple-checked that everything would be ready for today. So how my great-great-grandfather's glasses, the most valuable and important part of the project, went missing is beyond me. I take a deep breath trying to calm the pain beating in my chest before running a hand through my hair and clearing my head. Where was the last place that I had them? For a moment I just pace back and forth in the room while I think until it suddenly pops in my head and I snapped my fingers.

"Sam." 

Throwing my bag onto my back I rush down the steps, not a very good idea as it earns me a head rush that leaves me a little dizzy when my feet plant themselves on the ground floor. Approaching the kitchen I look around searching for Sam only spotting my mother hunched over the dishwasher as she loaded it up with dirty dishes. I have to take hold of the counter to help steady myself when my vision blurs slightly making me groan in annoyance. Every time I moved too fast or got too worked up this always happened, it's a real hassle always having to deal with these dizzy spells, but not much I can do about. Well there are ways, I just don't want to do them.

Sitting myself down at the counter I sigh and lay my arms across it nudging something laying on it. My gaze is immediately brought to the item and I am quickly filled with relief to see the glasses. "Praise the lord!" I exclaim eagerly reaching out to take hold of the spectacles and plop them back into their proper case. This action earns a chuckle from behind me and I turn around to see Sam standing with an amused smile.

"You left that in my room after we rehearsed last night," he said as he bent down to scoop the Chihuahua that had been anxiously skittering around his ankles; classic Mojo move. Sam nodded his head toward the orange bottle pull bottle sitting down on the counter; silently asking for me to open it for him so he could feed one to his pitiful excuse for a dog. I rolled my eyes but just opened it up letting him do as he pleased before closing the bottle and setting it back down. A scoff works its way past my lips as I watch Mojo eagerly gulp down the pill from Sam's hand. I never liked the rat; it was always staring at me with those bulging bug-eyes. It was creepy.

After finishing breakfast, I got up to help mom put the dishes in the dishwasher when I felt myself get dizzy again and I had to lean against the counter. I tried my best to be subtle about it but my mom caught onto I turn and gave me a look I know all too well as she made her way to the medicine cabinet. "Mom, don't bother, I'm fine I don't need it," I pipe up moving away from the counter to put my bowl in the dishwasher, "See I'm already good again."

She turns to me still unsure as she has the bottle of pills intended for me to use but have never been touched. "It worries me sometimes Dari, you really should be taking these. What if it happens when you're behind the wheel, huh?" She insists before begrudgingly setting the bottle back in the cabinet when I don't say anything. "If you got hurt because of this I would be devastated. You can't leave me alone with these boys in the house, you're not allowed to ever leave you got it? Never!" I snicker softly as she rambles; I definitely must've gotten that habit from her.

"Yeah, okay. Don't worry Mom, I'm Adrian Witwicky, I've got everything under control," I say bringing her in for a hug and smiling when I pull away only to have Mom pull me back in for a tighter hug and to give my cheek a big kiss. "Oh my god, Mom I have to gooooo!" I playfully whine. She finally let's go of me and I give her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading outside where Sam has already made his way outside and is waiting for me leaning against Dad's car.

Smiling, I close the front door and move to meet with him only to have an idea pop into my head that makes me stop halfway and turn away from Sam. He says something in confused protest when I suddenly shift gears but I don't really catch what he said my mind focused on my new mission. I head to the very back of the garden to the tool shed which has served as not only as a storage place for gardening tools but also as my own little workshop where I do most of my tinkering with my inventions. Dad doesn't mind; as long as I don't blow it up or hurt myself I can do whatever I want in there. One of my other recent projects was something I had thought up after a walk through the neighborhood where I came across a perfectly good pair of roller skates laying in somebody's garbage can. They were only a little worn down and missing a wheel or two; easily fixable problems with the help of some Adri elbow grease.

"Adri what're you doing? This isn't the time to do whatever it is you're planning," Sam whines following after me but when I turn around, holding the black skates in my hands, I see that he is maintaining a safe distance between the shed and himself. Oh poor Sammy, always so nervous around my inventions. 

"You can go with him, I think I'm gonna ride these babies there," I say stepping out of the shed and walking toward him noticing how he takes an apprehensive step backwards.

"Are you sure those things safe?"

"Samuel I can assure you that these things are perfectly safe... after I test them of course."

"So you don't even know?" He says looking even more nervous to be standing so close to the skates, "You know, I'd really prefer if you just rode in the car with Dad and I."

"Oh don't worry about it, I may even beat you guys there if these rockets actually work," I smirk and shove the roller skates into his hands, "Now hold these!"

"Wha- No!" Sam exclaims dropping the roller skates and letting them fall to the ground with enough force to apparently set off one of the skate's rockets.

Within a second the skate shoots off ricocheting off the wall of the house and shooting up and over the roof out of our sight. A crash from the other side of the house makes both of us cringe and look at each other as it is quickly followed by their dad's voice calling for us in a not so happy tone. Turns out that the skate had crashed into one of mom's hanging flower pots which, luckily, didn't cause any major damage to the pot but the poor plant may need some tending to recover for from the traumatic experience. Needless to say the Dad was not to happy as he confiscated both of the roller skates hiding them somewhere in the garage while Sam and I were told to get in the car.

Dad let out a tired sigh before meeting eyes with me in the rear-view mirror, "Next time I may not be so generous Adri, somebody could've gotten really hurt."

I nod my head in understanding looking down at my feet, "Yeah I know," my head shoots up and I beam up at him, "But did you see how high it flew! The fact that the rocket even had the power to launch itself at that trajectory and at that speed - I think I'm onto something here!" He let out a soft chuckle shaking his head before putting the car in drive and pulling out of the driveway.  
   
"I'm proud of you, now let's hope you put that same energy in to your project."  
   
***

My eyes lock onto the clock at the front of the classroom half-listening to Trent DeMarco's report, I mean the guy was a complete idiot and it was obvious that his work had suffered because of it. I wonder if he actually put as much effort into his work as he did on his biceps he'd probably be the smartest person in the classroom. I was so focused on the annoyingly slow-moving clock hands that I didn't even hear the teacher call Sam and I to give our presentation. Sam taps me om the shoulder and I smile sheepishly ignoring everyone's snickering as I gather my things and follow my brother up to the front desk where he proceeds to pick it up and dump everything onto it; earning a scolding look from me but he just shrugs it off.

I roll my eyes and just sigh trying to organize everything into slightly neater piles as I begin speaking, "We decided to do our family-" I'm cut off when Sam yelps; somebody had launched a rubber band across the room which would've been kind of impressive if I didn't know where it had come from.

"Who did- who did that?" Mr. Godwin demands scanning the room; my eyes look straight at Trent trying to act all innocent as he looks around the room with fake-curiosity like everyone else. He then turns his gaze up to me and I scoff seeing him wink. "People! Responsibility, Miss Witwicky you may continue."  

"For our family genealogy report," I say in a sterner tone drawing everyone's attention back to the front, "We decided to do it on our great-great-grandfather Archibald Witwicky."

Sam holds up a photo of the man to show everyone in the class before setting it down upright on the desk, "He was a famous man for he was the first to explore the Arctic circle in 1897, which is a big deal taking 41 brave soldiers with him," he states.

I hold up a picture of a wall decorated with strange symbols as I speak, "Unforunately, our grandfather, the genius that he was, wound up going blind and crazy in a psych ward drawing these symbols that nobody could decipher." Turning the page over I gaze at it for a moment with a small smile because these strange signs had always been fascinating to me; it's a shame that the old guy is dead now, I would've liked to ask him what he had seen that day that had drove him over the edge. Everyone's laughter brings back to reality and I look back up setting the paper down on the desk wondering what was so funny until I notice the instrument that Sam is holding and just roll my eyes with a soft snicker. High school students: the epitome of mature.

"Alright, this here is a quadrant, which you can buy for eighty dollars, it's all for sale, by the way," Sam informs, ignoring my look of disapproval, as he holds up his other hand showing off another one of our grandfather's tools. "And this sextant here is for fifty dollars," I nudge Sam's side to try and shut him up before Mr. Godwin starts docking our points. He sheepishly puts the items back down on the desk while I pull the case for our grandfather's glasses out; popping it open and picking up the damaged spectacles to show them off to the class.

"These are his glasses," I state staring at them with slight admiration. It didn't really matter to me if he had gone bad-shit crazy; our grandfather had chased after his interests and made amazing discoveries, pursuing his dreams no matter what others said. I wish I had that kind of determination. "They're kind of cool with all the scratches and stuff, so I never bothered to get them fixed. This is not for sale, but I'm sure they have seen many cool things."

Just as I finish speaking the bell rings and everyone, except Sam and I, get up and quickly file out of the room. "Okay might be a pop quiz tomorrow, might not, sleep in fear," Mr. Godwin states as everyone is leaving. Before Sam and I can even start cleaning up our stuff - Sam is still trying to bargain with everyone as they are leaving - he calls us over to him. I nudge for Sam to go and talk to him while I take over packing everything up.

"Are you going to sell me his liver?" Mr. Godwin asks unimpressed by his little auctioneer act during our presentation.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to raise some money for a car, but it was pretty good right?" Sam says looking over at me before turning back to or teacher who is still thoroughly unamused. I was trying to act like I didn't care but really I was on the tip of my toes. This grade was the make-or-break moment of our deal with Dad. If we got an A we were home-free, but if we didn't then no car for the Witwicky kids. 

"I'd say a solid B minus." He states and my heart sinks into my stomach. I very unceremoniously toss the rest of our stuff into Sam's bag and hurry to stand by his side as he confronts Mr. Godwin as politely as possible.

"A B minus really?" He nods and I can see the stress lines on Sam's face as he tries to think of some way to fix this. "Mr. Godwin can you do me a favor? Can you look out the window for a sec? You see my Dad, the man in the green car?" He groan's but sits up and leans into his desk to get a clear look out the window to see who Sam is pointing at before sitting back again. "Okay, well I want to tell you a dream, a boy and a girl's dream - and a Father's promise to that boy and girl. Now that man he looked us in the eyes and said: 'Kid's, I'm gonna buy you a car, but I want you to bring me two thousand dollars and three A's each.' We've got the two thousand and two A's, okay?"

"Now hold onto that thought," I speak up stepping forward a little, "Here's the dream, alright?" I hold up my hands to form a circle with my fingers, "You're B minus..." my hands shot away from each other as  I make an explosion noise. "Dream gone. Kaput, adios, sayonara." Mr. Godwin gazes up at the two of us then turns his head to stare out the window again like he is considering the situation and I know that we have him on the ropes. "Please ask yourself this, what would Jesus do?" He stares at me for a moment or two then writes an A minus on our report.

Sam and I were in hysterics as we hurried out of the room as fast as I could go without upsetting my body to go and meet our father outside. "I still can't believe you said that!" Sam laughs as we burst through the doors of the school's front entrance.

"You gotta do what you gotta do. What do you think got him? Pity that we were so desperate or he just wanted us to get out of his room?" I chuckle as we exit the building and head down towards our dad, waiting ever-so-impatiently for us. "A minus, not idiots!" I exclaim proudly as I shove the report into his face waving it around excitedly.

"Hold on, hold on, I can't see!" He snatches the paper and then reads it carefully while my brother and I cross our fingers and wait anxiously for his approval. "It is an A... alright, you're good." Sam high fives me and then we all climb into the car and head down the road to our future car. A few turns later and Dad suddenly speaks up, "Hey I got a surprise for you." I look back at my brother through the side-view mirror sharing a skeptical gaze.

"What kind off-" I stop mid-sentence as the car pulls into a Porsche dealership lot making my jaw drop in astonishment. No way, there's no way our Dad was getting us a Porsche as our first car I tried to convince myself but when he kept going I couldn't help but feel excited. My eyes widen in pure joy as I look out at all of the cars we pass by. "Oh sugar honey iced tea, look at all of these beautiful hunks of metal," I say staring at all of the different models, "There's a Boxster GTS, and a 911 Carrera Cabriolet! Oh this is the greatest day of my life!"

"No. No, no, no, you're getting us a Porsche, you've got to be kidding me!" Sam exclaimed sounding just as excited as I was.

"Yeah, I am. You're not getting a Porsche." My childlike smile almost instantly drops when I notice that Dad is pulling out of the dealership laughing as I look over at him.

"You think that's funny?" He just keeps laughing and I shake my head sighing as we pull out of the dealership with dread, but I guess it's my fault for getting my hopes up like that. "I don't want to talk to you for the rest of this whole thing," I pout slouching in my seat so I can wallow in my despair.

"Oh come on you two it's just a joke."

"But it's not a funny joke." Sam retorts sounding just as deflated as I was. "Oh good lord, Adri don't look up."

I quirk a brow when Sam this and cautiously sit up looking over the door of the car just in time to see a man in a god-awful clown costume holding a crappily-made arrow sign that says 'Best Wheel Deals!! Bobby B's.' 

Sweet lord have mercy.

Dad proceeds to park the car getting out with Sam following suit meanwhile I take one look out at the lot and burst out laughing at the piles of broken-down-garbage in the lot. Surely this had to be part of dad's joke to tease Sam and I. Yeah, definitely, any moment now he'll start laughing too and will get back in the car to take us back to the Porsche dealership.

"And what is so funny?" Dad asks staring at me unamused by my little laughing fit, watching me as I step out of the vehicle and then wrap an arm around his shoulder still chuckling softly.

"Have I ever told you how funny you are Dad?"

"No," He responds blankly, "You think I'm going to buy you two a Porsche just so you can wreck it two weeks later? I'm not joking-" I press my finger against his lips cutting him off.

"Come on Dad, you promised us half a car not," Sam gesture to the lot around us in exasperation, "Half a piece of crap!" My brain decides to finally come to terms with reality and I'm kicked out of my bubble of denial realizing that Dad really wasn't going to take us back.

"Please Dad, can't we just go back to the Porsches? I saw a red Cabriolet with my name written all over it," I say removing my arm and looking around at all of the sad excuses for machinery around me hoping that maybe there was at least one diamond in the rough.

Dad shakes his head letting out a sigh, "Kids, when I was your age I would've been happy with four wheels and an engine." He taps my chin tilting my head up a little when I just pout at him. "Come on Adri, no sacrifice-"

"-No victory, yeah I get it. The old Witwicky motto." I groan pushing his hand away as I go back to surveying my limited options with a defeated sigh. "I guess I could just... spruce it up a bit. A good wash, some waxing, a new paint job, and a whole bunch of elbow grease and I could probably make it somewhat decent." Dad slaps his hand on my back almost knocking me off balance.

"That's what I like to hear!" He says clamping his hand on my shoulder and pulling me close to him. The clown I had seen standing at the entrance comes running behind us with another man in a navy blue jumpsuit running after him, both of them shouting at each other in what I can only assume to be Spanish. I roll my eyes and pray for some kind of miracle.

A dark skinned man starts approaching us, leaving the dirty gas station hut that he had been shouting from; he is wearing an outfit that feels more suited for a tourist in the tropics than someone working at a car dealership. "Gentlemen and lady," He steps out from behind the rusted gas pumps and smiles wide offering a hand to Dad and giving it a firm shake. "Bobby Bolivia, like the country, except without the runs," he laughs at his own joke and Sam and I exchange a look of despair, "How can I help you?"

Our father shakes his hand and then speaks, pulling back to put a hand on either of our shoulders giving us a gentle shake, "Well my kids here are looking to buy their first car." I brush his hand away and fold my arms over my chest with a deep frown.

"You come to see me?" Bobby asks with a wide smile stretching even wider, as if that was even possible.

"Had to." Same grumbles and I nod in agreement.

"That practically makes us family." He holds his hand out to Sam who begrudgingly shakes but when Bobby turns to me with the same gesture I don't move and pretend like I don't see it until Dad nudges my side, his gaze stern as he looks at Bobby's hand and then to me. I sigh and take his hand making him smile. "Uncle Bobby B, baby, Uncle Bobby B." I force a smile as he shakes my hand and quickly introduce Sam and I. "Now, kids, let me talk to you," His arms wrap around us roughly patting our backs as he leads us further into the small lot to see the cars he had for sale. Maybe they weren't all that bad, it would definitely take some work to get everything running smoothly again. I mean, this is the perfect place to buy a car. They even have a petting zoo with an ostrich in it! How many car lots do you see with a live ostrich? None!

"Kids, your first enchilada of freedom awaits you underneath one of these hoods," Bobby B breaks away from us and gestures to the cars in the lot, "Let me tell you two something: A driver don't pick the car, the car'll pick the driver. It's a mystical bond between man and machine." Sam glances over at me sharing in my doubt.

Noticing our exchange Bobby steps in and puts a hand on Sam's shoulder, "Sam, I'm a lot of things, but a liars not one of them. Especially not in front of my mammy. That's my mammy." Bobby B turns toward the house near the back of the lot where two black women are sitting in sun chairs talking to each other. When Bobby B calls out to one of them she looks up and proceeds to flip him off. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing, Sam doesn't bother covering up his own laughter.

"AH, don't be like that. If I had a rock I'd bust your head, bitch," The man focuses back on us, "I tell you man, she deaf, you know." He says before letting out one of the most ridiculous laughs I've ever heard in my entire life. Imagine the sound of a donkey but a constipated one and you'll probably have his laugh. Bobby B shoves us towards the cars saying, "Let the bond guide you," and Sam and I exchange a wary look before splitting up to try and find a decent car.

After a while of searching, I was starting to doubt there was anything actually worth putting effort into. There were things ranging all the way from busted radiators, to cracked headlights, and rust wedged into absolutely every nook and cranny you could imagine. I was about to give up and head back to Sam and see if he had better luck when I spot something yellow out of the corner of my eyes.

I walk toward the faded yellow color to find the diamond in the rough, a 1977 Camaro with black stripes going down the riveted hood scoop. It looked better then any of the other cars but looks can be very deceiving. I circle the car inspecting for any major damage, but aside from the faded paint and small patches of rust, it wasn't half bad. The car had some Eric Vaughn Real wheels in the back and some Cragar SS wheels in the front, pretty nice. Peeking through the open window I can see that both the steering wheel and the gearshift are still in tact. So far this car as passing my inspection with high marks now the only thing I had left to check was the engine. I make my way to the front of the car and pop open the hood. Oh sweet baby jesus! A high-rise double-pump carburetor?! I feel my heart melt at the sight of the sleek shiny metal though a question of how such an amazing engine could be trapped in such an average vehicle.

I shut the hood and come to the driver's side siting down in the black vinyl seats. Placing my hands on the steering wheel I inhale the smell of hot leather through my nostrils before relaxing into the chair with a satisfied groan. It has been a while since I've been behind the wheel of a car without somebody else being present watching over me; it's going to be hard to start driving again. But such is life, I need to get over what happened before. I'm a new person, and this is a new car. A new start to a better chapter of my life.

The sunlight blaring in my eyes knocks me from my thoughts making me wince at the brief flash of light. I shield my eyes from the distracting glare and search to find out that the culprit was the disco ball hanging from the rear-view mirror. Alongside the sparkling ball was an angry bumblebee air freshener with the word, "Bee-otch," under it.

"Cute." I comment giving the disco ball a light twirl.

"Well over here, every piece of car a man might want or need." Bobby B says resting his hands on the car's trunk as he leads Sam and my father toward me. 

"This ain't bad," Sam notes noticing that I have already taken my place in the front seat of this car when, "It has racing stripes."

"Yeah its got racing-" Bobby B starts but his words trail off and I look at him through the rear-view mirror watching as he stares at the car confused and backs away a little. "Hey, what's this? What the heck is this? I don't know anything about this car. Manny!"

While he does that Sam leans down and pokes his in to check out the interior, nodding his head and I know that he has come to the same decision as me. "How does it feel?" He asks trying to make sure that we are on the same page.

"Feels good, and worth it." I reply and smirk as he nudges me telling me to scoot over so he get a feel or it himself.

With a quick roll of my eyes, I move over to the passenger's seat allowing Sam to take my place behind the wheel, putting his hands on it and gripping it firmly. He wipes the grime off the center of the wheel and then looks at it perplexed so I lean over to get a glimpse at what has him so confused. There is an odd symbol of some sort of face in the center of the wheel where cars usually place the symbols of there brand. "What brand is that?" Sam asks knowing my extensive knowledge on cars, but for once I am just as clueless as he is, so I just shrug. Odd. I'll gave to look that up when we got back home.

"How much?" Our dad asks bringing our attention back to the adults' conversation.

"Well, considering the semi-classic nature of the vehicle, with the slick wheels and custom paint job-" I snicker and interrupt him mid-sentence.

"The paint is faded." I state making Bobby B bend down to lean in through the passenger seat window.

"Yeah but it's custom."

"It's custom faded?" Sam shoots back scoffing lightly.

"Well, it's your first car I wouldn't expect you to understand," Bobby B states before standing up straight again to look at our father standing on the other side of the vehicle. "5 grand."

"No, I'm not paying over 4, sorry." I make a noise of exasperation and lean over my brother to look up at Dad from the driver's side. I look at him begging for him to change hi mind using the best puppy dog eyes I could manage. He did look sorry but not enough to change his mind.

"Come on, get out of the car." Bobby B commands and I shake my head sitting back down in my seat.

"No, no, no. You said cars pick their drivers!"

"Well, sometimes they pick a driver with a cheap-ass father. Out the car." He repeats before turning around to bring attention to the car right beside the Camaro. "Now this one here for 4Gs is a beaut." Bobby B declares getting in said car while Sam and I begrudgingly get out of the Camaro. I linger in the driver's seat for a while and spin the disco ball one lest time letting out a soft sigh, I had really been looking forward to getting this car and not just because of that sweet engine. I just had a feeling; a feeling that I just had to have this one. It was special... I could feel it.

"There's a Fiesta with racing stripes over there." My Dad points out and I shake my head still not bothering to get out of the Camaro.

"I don't want a Fiesta with racing stripes, I want this one!" I whine knowing that I'm acting like a child but I don't give a damn. I want this one. I have to have this one.

"I'm not paying over 5, end of discussion." My dad asserts before letting out a soft sigh and lightly patting my shoulder as if that's a proper condolence.

I groan and slam the car door and to my surprise, as well as everyone else's, the passenger door shoots open hitting the Volkswagen. "Holy shit!" I gasp as the Volkswagen knocks back a stand of some sort of engine cleaner.

"Adri!" Dad shouts turning to me angrily and I my hands shot up to show I had no part in what just happened but he shakes his head and lets out a huff of frustration watching Bobby B as he climbs out the other side sitting on the windshield.

"Oh gee," My dad winces, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'll get a sledge hammer and this right out. Hey, hey Manny! Get your clown cousin, get some hammers and come bang this stuff, baby!" Bobby reassures us before letting out that ridiculous laugh again before he climbs out of the now dented vehicle and starts walking away. I lower my hands and start to walk away from the car my eyes falling upon the sharp warning glare that he is shooting at me. My heart sinks into my gut and I take a timid step back, knowing that look all too well, I know I haven't done anything but that familiar guilt sinks into my stomach and I try to focus on something else so I don't mess anything else up.

The sound of radio static draws me towards the Camaro and I look through the driver's door to see the radio dials turning on their own. When I hear it utter the phrase, "Greater than man," I take a few steps toward my Dad to tap his shoulder calling his name but he either doesn't hear me or is just ignoring me. "Dad. Dad. Dad!" I say poking him persistently in between words.

"Adri, I'm starting to doubt that you really want a car or if you really deserve one for that matter," My dad says not even turning around to look at me.

"But Dad, the Camaro it-" I'm cut off when he turn around and suddenly points his finger at my face another sight that I'm all too familiar with.

"I don't want t hear another word about that Camaro!"

Out of nowhere a high pitched noise goes off and all the cars in the lot have their windows shattered, dozens of glass splinters shooting in every which direction sending Bobby B and the rest of us dropping to the ground for protection. I cry out in surprise, plugging my ears until the sound fades and then finally goes. Once the glass shards have finally settled we slowly stand back up; Sam shaking off the shards that had hit his shirt, and my Dad making sure that both Sam and I were unharmed. When Bobby B stands up, however, he turns around taking in all of the damage done to his cars clearly devastated and I honestly feel bad for him.

I may have thought that they were all crap before this but he had probably worked hard to get this far and now he was going to have to pay for all of these windows to be fixed or get new cars. Bobby's eyes widen when he comes to a halt looking over at us. No, not at us. He was looking at something behind us. I tense up and whip my head around to see what damage has been done and I'm stunned by what I see.

The Camaro stood looking just as it had before that strange noise went off, the windows still fully intact. There was no way that this car was the only one that had survived. Maybe it had... caused the noise? This day was getting weirder and weirder with every passing moment.

"4 thousand!" Bobby squeaks in a shaky breath, quickly drawing my attention back to him in surprise, sure enough he is holding up 4 fingers.

"Alright!" I exclaim jumping up and down as Bobby B and Dad go up to the shack-like gas station to fill out the boring paperwork. "Looks like I'm taking you home after all bud," I say patting the car's trunk, " First thing I'm doing when we get home is giving you a good scrub down, right Sam?" I look up at my brother. He still seems stunned by the whole ordeal before nodding. Dad emerges from the shack a little while later with the papers in hand and I smile rocking back and forth on my feet. "All set?"

"Almost, just need to find the keys for this thing." My dad states.

"They're already in the car." Sam pipes up walking almost hesitantly toward the vehicle before leaning in to grab the keys from the ignition holding them out as he walks back to us. I move to take the keys from Sam but my Dad beats me to the punch.

"Hold on! Before I give you these we need to go over a few things." He says sternly and I know that his words are directed mostly towards me. "No late drives; that means nobody is allowed to be behind his wheel after eleven. I want to know where you're going, how long it will take, and exactly when you'll be home." As my dad continues listing off rules I feel a small ache of hurt that he thought it was necessary to tell me all of this again. It was just like when I came home from... the police station. Mom and Sam were just glad to have me back but my dad he just... he had a hard time trusting me after that. I knew that he was talking to me specifically, I could see his eyes glancing at me every now and again, but I can also tell by the soft look in his eyes that he is trying his best not to make me feel any worse than I already do.

Dad opened his mouth to say something else but he must've noticed me looking rather somber because he stops and sighs. "Just," He tosses the keys to Sam, "Be careful."

I stare down at my feet in disappointment as my dad walks by. I can't blame him, really, I'd have a hard time trusting someone if they had done what I did, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Walking around the car I got into the passenger's seat buckling in without another word.

"You alright Dree?" Sam asks after putting the key in the ignition.

I nod and put on a fake smile to reassure him, but I know he didn't believe me. He knew me better than that.


End file.
